Paducah, Kentucky bans discrimination of LGBT people

Paducah became the first city in western Kentucky to enact a non-discrimination order against the LGBT community.

Towards less discrimination. By a 4-1 vote, Paducah decided to ban discrimination in housing and public services.

Only city Commissioner Richard Abraham opposed this legislation. He tried to add a religious exemption amendment for business owners. The Commission rejected it.

Other cities in Kentucky have adopted similar LGBT Fairness Ordinances:

Lexington and Louisville in 1999

Covington in 2003

Frankfort, Morehead, and Vicco in 2013

Danville in 2014

Midway in 2015

"It was a historic night in Paducah and western Kentucky," said Chris Hartman, the director of the Fairness Campaign. "I think we'll see a trend of this passing in other cities down the line."

As indicated by ACLU Kentucky, the passage of Paducah's Fairness Ordinance highlights the ongoing effort to pass a similar Statewide Fairness Law that would update Kentucky's Civil Rights Law to include LGBT people in discrimination protections.

Several attempts have already been made in 2015 and 2016 to have a federal law on LGBT protection. They failed but know that Senator Morgan McGarvey and State Representative Mary Lou Marzian both have planned to introduce a new bill in Kentucky's 2018 General Assembly.

Paducah has passed an ordinance preventing discrimination of LGBT people. The battle for equality continues at the local level.